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any idea what the better cleaner for oils/greases is out of naptha or heptane? lets say we are comparing the same purity etc etc
thx
thx
whats a better cleaner? naptha or heptane?
- Thread starter jalikaria24
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Well, naphtha is a mixture of hydrocarbons so it would seem likely that for removing grease, you might have better luck with different hydrocarbons removing different types of things in the grease. But real elbow grease may be the required ingredient no matter which solvent you choose!!
They'll both work pretty well and are highly flammable.
Naptha will be a bit oily itself and won't immediately evaporate off of stuff.
Heptane is the main component of gasoline and will basically be like using gas.
Naptha will be a bit oily itself and won't immediately evaporate off of stuff.
Heptane is the main component of gasoline and will basically be like using gas.
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gotcha, so to opposite the question. would naptha be better if i want to leave a layer of oil behind? i know it will be very low but is it safe to say it would be a bit gentler or a bit more lubricating since its a little oily while heptane seems to be straight solvent?
Neither will leave its own oil behind. Naptha is slower to evaporate. Works okay taking oil spots off the driveway.
Heptane I see is the main ingredient in CA-safe carb cleaner, which doesn't work as well as the non-CA safe carb cleaner, but most of the time works good enough. Heptane evaporates relatively quickly.
Heptane I see is the main ingredient in CA-safe carb cleaner, which doesn't work as well as the non-CA safe carb cleaner, but most of the time works good enough. Heptane evaporates relatively quickly.
I used to do everything with bare hands, as I'm sure we all did before the advent of nitrile gloves. I found naptha to be the most effective cleaning solvent that was also relatively gentle on skin. The camping fuel version supposedly has a very tiny amount of oil in it - to protect the metal on camping gear - but I've never noticed any residue.
Why not use a plant based terpene?
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ahh gotcha i am actually deciding between two brake cleaners. one is primarily naptha and the other is primarily heptane. wondering which is a stronger or better one
is the naptha and stoddard (mineral spirit) the same?
or at least similar?
or at least similar?
This is a good description of the difference. I stole the quote.
Naphtha is a brother to mineral spirits (also called paint thinner). They are the same basic thing; a soup of alkanes (aliphatic hydrocarbons) derived from petroleum. Depending on the balance of alkanes in the mixture, it will dry either a bit faster or a bit slower. Naphtha dries a bit faster than mineral spirits.
